‘We don’t want azaadi, we just want justice’

“We don’t want azaadi. All we want is justice,” said Nighat, whose sister Asiya, 17, was one of the two women found dead. “Those who committed the crime should be brought to book. Are we asking for too much?”

The families of the two women found dead on May 30 just want to know what happened. Who raped them? Who killed them?

They have found no answers yet, 10 days since the incident. A blundering administration has been no help at all.

“We don’t want azaadi. All we want is justice,” said Nighat, whose sister Asiya, 17, was one of the two women found dead. “Those who committed the crime should be brought to book. Are we asking for too much?”

“We are not interested in the politics, but demand justice,” said Shakeel Ahmad, whose wife Nilofar, 24, was the other woman found dead.

“Somebody needs to keep his foot down and ask for justice irrespective of the fact that the girl is a Muslim, Sikh or Christain.”

The two women were discovered dead near a stream in Shopian district, 52 km from Srinagar. Forensic examination revealed the presence of semen on their bodies. The police and administration have said they died of drowning.

No one believes them.

And Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has ordered an inquiry, after publicly endorsing the police’s drowning theory.

The Hurriyat Conference wasted no time in seeking support against the “murder and rape of two Kashmiri women allegedly by Indian security forces”. There is a CRPF camp not very far from where the bodies were found.

“We do not rule out the possibility of the involvement of police personnel or CRPF personnel. Let the investigation complete,” said Shopian Superintendent of Police Javaid Iqbal Muttoo.

Asiya, the younger of the dead women, had just cleared here 10th examination. “She was studious and religious and the star of our family,” said her sister Roomi.